


Bury the System, Build it Back Up

by comrade_kachow (triggerwarninghappy)



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: (yet), Alchemy, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen, Light Angst, Mentions of Cancer, No Romance, The Author Is Still Trying To Find Their Style Let Them Live, Trans Jirou Kyouka
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:33:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23450995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triggerwarninghappy/pseuds/comrade_kachow
Summary: It's at the tender age of four when most children gain quirks: enormously dangerous powers that, when uncontrolled, have the power to level cities. It's at the meager age of four when most children are sorted into categories - hero, sidekick, civilian. And it is at the fragile age of four when most children find out if they belong or not, in the society revolving around this unnatural power.Most._________________Alternatively: Midoriya decides to say "fuck society and it's rules" and makes his own path.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Inko & Midoriya Izuku
Comments: 1
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not have an upload schedule planned yet. Hopefully at least 2 times a month, but online school is kicking my ass. I plan on, hopefully, slightly longer waits but longer chapters. It sucks to wait 3 weeks for 1K of dialogue and no plot. I won't give you guys that.

It's at the tender age of four when most children gain quirks: enormously dangerous powers that, when uncontrolled, have the power to level cities. It's at the meager age of four when most children are sorted into categories - hero, sidekick, civilian. And it is at the fragile age of four when most children find out if they belong or not, in the society revolving around this unnatural power. Most.

Now we come to one of the antagonists in our story. A brash, literally explosive bully of a boy by the name of Bakugou Katsuki, four and a half and already sorted into the 'hero' category. He and two of his friends (it's a relative term - they pretty much worship the child) are towering over a crying, quivering mess of a boy, standing in front of a child with burns on his arms from Bakugou's quirk. This green haired mess, stammering out something like "I won't let you hurt him" is, surprisingly, our hero. 

He's been sorted into the category known as "useless", because he never gained a quirk. 

Bakugou laughs, there's a spark of light, and it's over. Our hero is on the ground, screaming from fear. Bakugou and his cronies laugh, sauntering away with all of the confidence that a four year old can have. It's remarkable, really, just how much this confidence will grow over the next thirteen years.

"Don't worry!" Bakugou shouts over his shoulder as he walks off, grinning with that evil, cunning grin. "I'll be sure to thank my favorite punching bag when I'm famous!"

* * *

This continues for years. The torment, the names, the hurt and the new scars and the blisters that our hero has grown numb to when they pop. It's his normal routine. Do his work, lose a book or two to Bakugou - he gave up calling him Kacchan many, many years ago - and go home. To an empty house. His father left. It's fine, he doesn't remember the man anyway. But it's the chill that sets into his bones that reminds him how much has changed for him in the last few years. Namely, the shrine that's appeared in the entryway. To the sweetest, most wonderful woman the world has ever known.

It was unfortunate, losing Inko. A single woman, survived by her son. Nobody talks about her son, the world has no reason to shine a spotlight on a quirkless teenager. Our hero - we shall simply call him Hero for now - toes off his shoes and lines them up by the door, setting his bag down next to them. He kneels near the altar, bowing his head and placing his hands on his knees. He doesn't really track time when he's like this. It's more of a measure of how bad his day was, ranging from _could have gone better_ to _the world needs to burn away taking me with it_. 

Today was okay. He won't spend more than thirty minutes here. He shuts his eyes and remembers her lively face, her energy, her perseverance. Even when she was undergoing treatments, and all of her hair fell out and she was weak, she still took care of her son. Made sure he was fed, had clean clothes, was healthy. Hero wishes he was more grateful back then, when he was younger, because now he'd give anything at all to feel one last caress of her hand on his cheek, one more whisper that it was going to be okay, that she was there, that he was loved. 

His session ends with a tear rolling down his face and his eyes slowly opening. He raises a shaky hand to his mouth, pressing a feather light kiss onto his fingers and pressing those against the picture frame. He stands, breathing deeply for a moment, before going to the table and starting on his homework. He'll have a packet of instant ramen for dinner, after going to the store. He'll buy enough for a week, seven packets. He's only got scrounged change, this week, coins he's found in the streets and alleyways, even a few bills that people can't be bothered to pick up.

Inko has her savings account opened for him, and the account she started for him to go to a good school. Those are for bills. Housing, electricity, water. Medical bills that he hasn't even started to think about paying off. Heating is a luxury, he has sweaters he can pile on when it gets cold. Hero is heading to his room to grab some pens for tonight's homework, when he pauses uncharacteristically by a door that hasn't been opened in the year that Inko has been gone. Her old room. Hero closed it, the first thing he did when he came home from the funeral. 

Now, however, his fingers tremble as he reached up to the handle, grasping it and turning it until he hears the familiar click of the latch coming from the trim. He slowly pushes the door open, letting his hand fall to his side as he stares into the room.

It's tidy, how Inko liked it. The bed is made, all the laundry picked up and put into the basket and closet. A fine layer of dust settles over everything, a cloud rises and Hero coughs as he waves it away. He ventures further into the room, running his hand over the desk, over the sheets, over the walls. He sits on the ground near the bed, peering over the edge. He feels like he's four years old again, running to Mommy after a particularly bad nightmare. Monsters chasing him. She'd pick him up and he'd curl into her side, diving under the blankets and feeling her chest rise and fall against him. 

A glint of gold under the bed shocks him out of his daydream and he shivers as the cold of the room hits him. He leans down and pulls out a book; it's filthy, but the tarnished edges gleam in the soft light filtering through the windows. Hero dusts off the book, coughing when a cloud rises to his face. He opens the first page, and written in faded letters are the words "Alchemy Basics".

* * *

Hero pours himself over the books - there's more than one under Inko's bed - and immerses himself in a culture lost to society. He learns that everything is in accordance with each other - to gain, you must lose. Of course, he's restricted by rules. He cannot create gold, which is fine, and you cannot create human life. Which is also fine, albeit disheartening. There's a tale in a book detailing why NOT to create human life. It sounds fake. But he learns anyways, and he absorbs every piece of knowledge he can from the books. And when he transmutes his first item, a small duck from a piece of wood he found in the back of the apartments, he's so, so happy. Because he _can_ make something, it _is_ worth it. He's _not worthless_.

* * *

As soon as the bell rings to dismiss them from classes, Hero is grabbing his bag from under his desk. It's a shopping day; he has more money than normal, he might get milk this week. A _pop-pop-pop_ sounds behind him, he feels the singe on the back of his neck and he has to grab the edge of his desk to avoid turning to punch Bakugou straight in his smug face. Which is a bad idea, because he's put his hands together and he is thinking about making a brick - he sees the blue sparks and he quickly puts his hands to his sides. The sneering voice is next to his ear. "Where do you think you're going, _Hero_?" Bakugou hisses. Hero can feel the grin he's got on.

"I'm going shopping, Bakugou." Hero replies snidely. He's been done with Bakugou's shit for years. _I'm getting away from you, you slimy mother-_

"Isn't that your mom's job?" Bakugou asks, his cronies snickering behind hands. "Oh wait, I forgot-"

"Dead mom jokes never get old, do they _Kacchan_ ?" Hero rolls his eyes. He's done with Bakugou's crap, he has been for since middle school. "Just like her, I guess." He flings his bag over his shoulder and squares his shoulders. He sees the fury appear on Bakugou's face at the fact that he didn't cower in fear, he sees the hand reaching and he ducks, spinning around the blonde and slipping out of the classroom door. He hears the angry roar of _GET BACK HERE [REDACTED]_ and he bolts out the door of Aldera Junior High.

The store isn't very busy, it's a few older women buying snacks for grandkids and mothers buying baby food and formula. So Hero runs in, he grabs his ramen and a half gallon of milk. He gets to the cashier, and he's short by one damn yen. His face falls. "O-oh." He stammers out. "I'll, uh, put the milk back and it's just going to be the ramen." The cashier, a woman with what seems to be a barcode scanner for an eye, nods and grabs the milk to put back. 

A man sets a few bills down in front of Hero, and the green-haired boy's eyes pop out of his skull. "I'll pay for it." The man says. He looks gaunt, with bright yellow hair and sunken eyes. "And whatever else he might want to get besides ramen." 

"Sir, I-" Hero begins to protest. "I can't- It's just milk and ramen, I can pay-"

"Nonsense." The man waves him off and smiles at the cashier. "We'll be back." He backtracks out of the aisle, beckoning for Hero to follow. "Grab the bills while you're still there."

Hero does, and he reluctantly follows the man. They go through the whole store, picking up essentials that Hero hasn't had in ages - milk, bread, cheese, eggs, he even gets to pick out chips and meats. He picks as little as he can, until the man tells him to get more. It's a full rotation of the store and the cart is piled before they get to the cashier again. Hero only has two bags of food to bring home, but it's more than he's had in years. He bows deeply to the man, who tells him to stand up. 

"It's nothing, young man." The man says. He's smiling, which is nice. It's not a patronizing smile like the ones he gets from his teachers or classmates. "Money gets tight and I have more than enough to go around."

"Still." Hero tells him. He's smiling too, it's eager and bright. "Thank you." He will not cry, he will not cry, he will _not_ cry. He looks down, shaking his head. He looks back up, meaning to thank the man for his kindness yet again.

But he's dissipated into thin air.

As he walks home through the tunnel, Hero thinks about that man. He's munching on chips, which he's not had in ages and he's forgotten how greasy they are. But it's good to have the grease fill his mouth, have it coat his tongue in that satisfying way. He's so deep in his thoughts that when he's grabbed from behind and hoisted into the air he screams, his bags drops and he can hear the eggs crack, the milk splatter everywhere. The pang of hurt in his chest is quickly taken over by pure, absolute _fear_ because something is in his mouth, it's going to his lungs and there's a voice next to his ear-

"You'll make a nice skin suit." The hiss is rancid and disgusting, it makes Hero gag and he's almost throwing up but for the slime in his mouth. "Just relax, it'll be over soon." Hero can reach the wall, he claps his hands together and he touches the cold brick. He's glad he got the transmutation circles tattooed on the backs of his hands. It hurt like hell, but he's grateful that he stuck with the pain. 

He grabs the staff he's made, his knuckles turning white with how tight his grip is on the shaft as he drives it up and back. He hears a shriek and he's dropped to the ground, fresh air flooding his lungs as he vomits over the blood now staining the ground. The villain is howling is pain and Hero stands up, regaining his grip on the staff and planting his feet. It's just a blob of slime, but he's doubled over and grabbing at his eye in obvious pain. 

Then there's a wind, and Hero is knocked off balance by the gust. It stops as soon as it started. Hero sits back and looks at his hands, picking out a piece of gravel from his palm. He hisses in pain, but his eyes fill with tears when he sees the food he's just gotten spread out across the ground. He goes to pick it all back up. Some of it is still usable - the smoked fish he got is still in it's package, and most of the ramen he insisted on getting still is fine, just like half of the apples he got. Other things aren't as salvageable. The milk opened and spilt everywhere, and all of the eggs cracked. He wipes his arm over his face to get rid of the tears that cling to his lower lashes. 

When he opens his eyes again, he jumps in surprise. All Might is there, and he's helping Hero to gather all of his groceries. "Are you all right young man?" He asks in his booming tone, but it's somehow calmer now that the villain is gone. "I should not have let that villain get away!"

"Y-Yes, sir, um-" Hero stammers out, quickly putting the bread and peanut butter back into the bag. "I'm alright, sir, just- shaken?" 

"That is perfectly normal." All Might stands up, holding a bag out to Hero, who takes it. "I'm glad to see that you are okay."

Hero nods. The whole situation crashes down upon him and he gasps. "Y-You're _All Might_ , oh my god, thank you for saving me!" He bows.

All Might laughs loudly, placing a hand on Hero's head and ruffling his curls. "It's what a hero does!" He bends down to grab a soda bottle, filled with the green murk that was in Hero's face a few minutes ago. That must be how he got out in the first place - a bottle isn't really a good place to keep a villain. "Thanks to your quick thinking I was able to get the villain! Now, it was great meeting you, but I must be on my-"

"Wait!" Hero snaps, his hands curling into fists at his side. There's a question that's been bugging him since this whole strange creepy encounter began, biting at the edge of his mind. Now, I'd be lying if I said he wasn't scared to ask, but the unlikely hero steels his nerve and looks his fear right in the face. "I don't have a quirk, or courage enough to face my problems, and I don't even know how to ask this. But do you think. . ."

* * *

He walks home alone and defeated, with words echoing around his brain like the old DVD screensavers. It hits the corner and that's when he starts crying. _I am sorry, young man, but you cannot be a hero without a quirk._

Or, he would start crying, if his attention weren't torn away by commotion going on down his street. He sees a crowd. He starts heading towards it, and thanks to his small stature he's able to weave between people to the forefront of the crowd. He watches for a few moments, and for the second time, he drops the groceries and his backpack on the ground, ducking past the heroes currently trying to keep people back from-

The villain who's drowning Bakugou.

He doesn't think: Hero starts running towards the villain, and he claps his hands together. Blue flashes send the crowd into a panic as Hero jumps over a platform he juts from the ground and his fingers _just_ graze the villain's sludge. He freezes long enough for Bakugou to let out an explosion near his face, allowing him to get free as the villain howls in pain. Hero knows that feeling all too well. 

The sludge collects itself and turns on Hero, who takes a defensive step back, hands up and opened, poised to come together at any moment. "Some quirk you have there, kid." 

"It's not a quirk." Hero states, trying to stall. "But thanks anyways." He sees the pros on the sidelines, hears them yelling for him to get out of there, what he's doing is illegal, he's going to get killed, and he ignores it all. "It's actually a pretty cool thing that I picked up when I was younger, nobody else knows it as far as I know."

"You get off on this shit?" The villain snarls, slowly advancing and making Hero turn in a circle to keep facing him. "Butting in where you don't belong, trying to make everything about you? Saving people who treat you like garbage, when you know you won't get anything in return?"

"Not particularly." Hero answers, giving a light shrug. He drops his stance for a quick second, and that's when they both move. The sludge shoots forward, Hero drops to his knees and presses his hands to the asphalt. Pillars come up under him, sending him up. A huge gust of wind nearly blows him away, but he saves himself with another huge wall behind him. His arms come up to protect his face as he hears a great booming voice. Of course, to everyone else this gives a sense of hope, a cause for joy and cheers as the villain is contained. 

But to Hero. . . it fills him with rage and a slimy tendril of disgust wraps around his stomach. His idol. . . his _hero_. . . 

His least favorite person.

* * *

All Might gets praised for his heroic actions in containing the villain before any real harm could be done. 

Bakugou is sent home with a worried mother and oodles of praise.

Hero gets taken to the police station and questioned and lectured about his inappropriate quirk use. He's stopped listening. He leans back, arm coming over the back of the chair as he stares blankly at the man yelling at him. "-afe that was, are you even _listening to me right now_?!" Hero tunes back in as hands slam onto the table. He raises an eyebrow. 

"If we're being honest, no." He snarks, pushing his chair back with a screech and standing up. "The lecture's useless anyways, it's not like the law can touch me. I'm quirkless, these 'powers' of mine are just something that's been ignored for hundreds of years. Something the world forgot about after quirks came around and drowned out the rest of us." He turns on his heel, pausing at the door. 

"You can't leave yet-" The officer, Tsukauchi? If Hero remembers correctly. 

"Yes I can." The green-haired teen barks. "I didn't break any laws. I'm not getting in trouble for doing something the _heroes_ , people who are paid to use their fancy fucking powers to 'save' people, couldn't do because they were scared. There was a person dying. Like hell I was just going to fucking sit there." With that, his red sneakers scuffing the clean tiles of the station halls as he marches out, Hero storms home, not particularly pleased that he'll be going to bed hungry for the next few days.

* * *

Hero kicks a rock out of his path and scowls, his hands shoved into his pockets. He mutters angrily to himself under his breath, cursing at the justice system, at the heroes, at everything. He sees the rock again and a wave of anger smothers his senses. He pulls his foot back and with an angry scream he kicks the rock as hard as he can. He looks up and screams in regret when he sees the kind man, the one who bought him food, get hit with the rock, square in the chest. "Oh no!" Hero wails, hands over his mouth. "I'm s-so sorry!" He bows deeply.

A warm chuckle, a hand on his head. "Straighten up, kid, you didn't hurt me that bad." The man tells him. Hero straightens his spine, wringing his hands together. "You call that a kick? Felt like a bug hitting me."

"I'm-" Hero blanks. How do you respond to that? "I'm sorry, I didn't notice you."

"It's fine, relax." The man holds up a hand. "I heard you were caught up in those villain attacks from earlier. Are you okay?" Hearing about the villain sends tendrils of both disgust and fear at the memories down Hero's spine and he nods carefully. "That's good." The man looks at the sky. "It's getting dark. I'm afraid I'm not all that cut out to protect you, but would you mind if I accompanied you home? To make sure you get there safely."

"Um." Hero hesitates. "That's- If- If you want, I suppose that's fine?" He rubs the back of his head, nerves lighting up and settling again. 

The two engaged in light banter - Hero tells about the groceries he dropped in front of his home and during his attack, and offers to pay the man, Toshinori, he said his name was, but is politely refused. _You don't pay back a gift,_ he had been told. The man tells Hero his thoughts on what he did when Kacchan was in trouble. _It was the sort of thing a hero would do_.

And it's when Hero sets a hand on the banister leading up to his apartment, when a goodbye is playing on his mouth and what's left and unspoiled of the groceries are tightly secured in his hand, that Toshinori asks him his name. "I have a feeling you'll do great things in the future, young man. I'd like to be able to recognize the name of someone I was fortunate enough to be able to help." Is his explaination.

Hero hesitates. He's got many names. He goes by his real name with teachers, with peers who haven't yet heard what Kacchan calls him. That's another name. And then the voices in his head. . . and his mother's voice comes through his ears, soft and lilting like it was in life.

A name pops onto his tongue, and it's forced past his teeth and lips before he can stop it. "Izuku." He holds nothing but love for that name, the way it was whispered to him when he was a child and was crying after a nightmare, the way it sternly sounded out when he was in trouble, the way it was spoken when he got home from school with a cheery smile accenting each letter. "My name is Midoriya Izuku."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Midoriya kicks some ass, makes a friend (maybe?), and claps back at Bakugo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well this took
> 
> much too long? damn i left y'all on read for MONTHS and i'm so sorry
> 
> enjoy this chapter as an apology
> 
> ft. Midoriya being a sassy fuck

It's a bright day when Midoriya steps off the train, walks the block and a half to the gates of Yuuei. Other kids gawk at how big it is, others are pointing out the pro hero teachers that are visible through the windows.

Midoriya ignores it all in favor of his music and simply strides towards the doors. His hands tingle in a mix of unreleased alchemical energy and anticipation, the circles on the back of his hands itch profusely under black fingerless gloves. His heart is jackrabbiting in his chest, a quick badum-badum-badum, and it all blurs together until he bumps into someone and goes falling backwards. A hand catches him around the wrist, saving him from cracking his head on the pavement. He hears laughing, but it's not the cruel ones he's used to. No, this laugh is warm and friendly. It almost reminds him of Inko.

"Sorry about that!" She - the person who caught him, she's a girl - chirps, pulling Midoriya to his feet. "It's bad luck to fall before a big event." She's cute, he has to admit it, in a conventional way. Soft brown hair, big eyes. Short, almost as short as he is. "Good luck in there!" And just like that she's gone, running into the school. Someone knocks into Midoriya's shoulder, he catches a shock of blonde hair.

Bakugou. Midoriya braces himself for an attack that never comes. Bakugou simply just. . . keeps walking. Not even a _watch it, nerd_ before he's gone. It's interesting. Midoriya shakes his shock at the lack of reaction off and runs inside, taking the stairs two at a time. His hair is pulled up into a little ponytail, his undercut freshly done for the exam. As he goes into the school, he sees a myriad of people milling about in the halls, heading towards the auditorium at different paces. A girl with vine hair, a boy with what looks like Scotch tape containers for elbows, a tall teen with 6 arms? Interesting.

Midoriya walks into the auditorium, sighing heavily. He clocks three spare seats - one is next to Bakugou, which is obviously out of the question - a boy with firetruck red hair takes that seat. Another is next to a kid with a . . . bird head. Odd. He hops down a few steps, wriggling his way down the aisle and taking the seat next to a punk looking girl. She glances over at him and nods, turning her attention back to the stage. A pro hero is standing behind a podium, and once all of the seats are filled he lets out a yell that has Midoriya covering his ears immediately. "ALL RIIIIIIIIIGHT, KIDDOS! WHOSE READY FOR AN ENTRANCE EXAM?!"

The auditorium stays silent. 

"ALRIGHT THEN!" The hero yells, the screen lighting up behind him. Midoriya zones out as the screaming continues. He vaguely catches something about robots, and a point system? He doesn't know. A thread on his gloves catches his attention and he pulls at it, snapping the thread and rolling it in his fingers. He vaguely registers that people are standing and making their way from the auditorium to the exam sites. A quick glance down at his entry papers, and he knows where to go. 

He taps his fingers on his legs, keeping his hands firmly away from each other in order to minimize the possibility of an accidental reaction. He feels the alchemical energy buzzing just below his skin like a fresh burst of caffeine-addiction energy. He wants to just clap his hands together to release it, to calm himself- and he startles himself with the flash of blue that appears when his hands move to each other on their own. He does the only thing he can think of to discharge the energy, slam his hands to the ground and he feels himself shoot several feet up on a platform. Several students yell in shock, backing away from the accidental pillar and watching in a mix of horror and awe as Midoriya claps and undoes the damage he's just caused. A nervous laugh bubbles to the tip of his tongue and he flushes as people stare at him. A rather tall one appears before him, towering over him with hands on his hips.

"The exam has not started yet!" He states, and Midoriya faintly wonders if he's a robot instead of a person. "You should not be using your quirk! Nobody else is! It's incredibly rude of you to distract others because you're unable to control your own abilities!"

For some reason, this guy ticks Midoriya off to an extreme degree. "Oh, like you've never needed to get rid of extra energy." He snaps, eyes narrowing and one brow raising. "I'd rather accidentally discharge into the ground than myself, much less someone here." He lifts his shirt to show off a particularly nasty scar on his side, an accident from years ago. Technically, he didn't actually do it to himself, but it helps his point as he sees the teen reprimanding him go slightly paler. "If you don't want that to happen to you, I suggest you back the hell up. I don't like people getting in my business."

Snickers come from around the pair as the taller male stammers for a moment, so painfully obviously not used to being told off in return, and turns on his heel to stalk away. Midoriya sighs, popping his wrists and smoothing his hair back. He's so glad he didnt hurt anyone with that little, ah, _stunt._ He's got scars from accidentally discharging in the past, and accidentally hurting someone else would have destroyed his chances. As it stands, he barely stands a chance of getting into UA with what he can do. These kids have been learning their powers for a decade, probably more. He's had two years. 

He's barely paying attention to his surroundings, and a nudge on his shoulder has him squeaking in alarm as he whirls to see who tried to get his attention. Its the girl he sat to earlier - the punk one. Now that hes looking at her, he sees earphone jacks coming from her earlobes. Her quirk, probably. "Haven't ever seen Iida not have a retort to anyone before." She smiles at him, sticking a hand out to him. "And your quirk is pretty cool."

"Ah, thanks!" Midoriya shakes her hand shortly. "I didn't realize I said anything like that until it came out of my mouth. I didn't mean to be like. . . that, he just ticked me off." 

"Yeah. He's a huge type A asshole." The girl snickers, watching the guy - Iida - stretch, his face still clearly bright red.

Midoriya is going to enjoy beating this guy.

"Good luck, man. Hope you get in." The girl nods at Midoriya, melding back into the crowd before he can say anything back to her.

* * *

"Shit." Midoriya puts his hands on his knees, sweat dripping down his face as a robotic body sparks in front of him. _36 points._ He only has 36. He needs more. He straightens up and shakes his hands out, breaking into a light jog towards where he hears more combat happening. 

He dodges through an alley and exits onto what appears to be the main street of the combat arena. Swiftly taking out three more 2 pointers, he looks rapidly from side to side.

That's when the screaming starts. 

He stands as the other participants run past him, the girl from earlier catching his eye as he stares at the huge robot approaching. She makes a dash towards him and grabs his arm, pointing behind her. "There's someone trapped back there!" She pants, eyes blazing with a fierce determination. "I can't help on my own, come on!" Midoriya is half dragged with the girl - he's yet to get her name - towards the robot. 

It might look like Midoriya is a state of shock, but its actually its quite the opposite. He's calculating, and once he sees the girl trapped - it's the one who saved him from falling over as he got to the school - he's got his plan.

"What's your quirk?" He asks.

"Earphone Jack. It's like an aux cord, I can project my heartbeat and eavesdrop through buildings and-" He nods, eyes darting from object to object. 

"Okay, here's the plan. I'm going to make some pillars and lift the debris off of her. You grab her and get her out of here while I make sure this thing can't hurt anyone else."

"That's- It's a 0 pointer, though! You won't gain any points!" She grabs onto his arm. "Lets just get her out of here together, c'mon."

"Heroes save people. That's why we're here, right?" Midoriya scowls, ripping his arm away from her. "To be fucking heroes. We stop that before it can hurt anyone." He points at the robot before breaking into a run. He discards his gloves behind him - they just inhibit his ability - and claps. Blue sparks light the air as he bends low to graze his fingers against the ground, stone and asphalt pillars propping up the plates of metal and rocks pinning the girl down. He reaches her first, bending down to grab onto her hand and yank her out. Her arm is bleeding, so he does what any rational person would. He tears a strip from his shirt and wraps it around the wound, tying it tightly before the other girl reaches him. "Take her and get out of here." He says, pulling the rest of his shirt off to smother a small fire. He catches out of the corner of his eye the two girls staring at him. He knows he's ripped - he spent all summer hauling the trash from Dagobah Beach to make sure his physical condition could keep up with that of his classmates. But he still feels slightly embarrased, so he grabs his jacket again and zips it up over his chest. 

"What are you gonna do?" The purple haired girl supports the brunettes weight as she shakes, attention shifting to the giant robot.

"Stop that fucker." He states, a pillar forming at his feet to hurl himself over the pile of debris. He hits the ground in a stumbling run before skidding to a stop in the middle of the street.

This is the biggest thing he's tried to transmute. He takes a deep breath as the robot shakes and rumbles towards him, bracing himself as he drops to a knee and _slams_ both palms into the street. In front of him, the sidewalks sprout into walls to protect the buildings from falling as the street itself is ripped apart, searing into the sky as a huge spike, impaling the robot through the chest. Midoriya screams as the energy is pulled from his body, black edging his vision in a blurry vignette. He's so close to passing out as the robot whirs and slumps over, sparking briefly before exploding. 

Midoriya's head slams into a building and his vision blacks out.

* * *

Toshinori frowns at the cameras as he watches the boy - Midoriya Izuku - run full tilt at the 0 pointer. "That kid's gonna kill himself." Aizawa mutters next to him.

"No, he's not." Toshinori replies, leaning forward in his chair, hands folding together nervously. "This boy is incredibly strong. He'll be fine."

"Yagi-san, isn't that the boy who was on the news a few months ago? The slime villain incident?" Nedzu pipes up from his own seat, watching the screens with a sick sort of enjoyment dancing around in his beady little eyes. 

"Yes, sir." Toshinori nods. "Midoriya, I believe his name was."

A gasp collectively leaves the teacher's mouths as the spike rises from the ground, Aizawa getting half out of his chair. "What the hell kind of quirk-"

"A powerful one it seems!" Nedzu claps his paws together in excitement. "Oh, Yagi-san, you were right about this one! He'll be fun to have."

"Sir, I don't- holy shit!" All the teachers seem to freeze as the robot explodes, as the cameras watch Midoria fly backwards and, with a sickening crack, slam against the wall and slump down, blood trailing down his face. "Reco-"

"I'll go see to the boy." Chiyo sighs, bracing herself on her cane and making her way out of the room to the battlefield.

Nedzu hits the loudspeaker button and announces the end of the exam.

* * *

It's weeks later when Midoriya gets the letter from UA. Now, since Midoriya is our protagonist - rather odd, I know, but that's how things happen sometimes - we already know he gets in, despite his. . . accident. All Might himself is on the hologram, which makes Midoriya scowl at the projection, but his disgust is quickly forgotten when he hears the #1 Hero (god, why is he even #1? If he tells kids they can't be heroes. . .) say that he's been accepted.

* * *

The moment Midoriya opens the door to the classroom he's been assigned - 1-A, the hero course - he ducks under an explosion aimed at his head, his hands narrowly stopping before they come into contact with each other. "Stupid Deku, what the hell are you doing here?" Bakugo roars, whirling around as Midoriya slips inside and hops onto a desk to avoid another explosion. "You quirkless bastard-" They start playing cat and mouse as Bakugo chases Midoriya around the room. See, Midoriya is used to this by now. None of the teachers have cared before, so it's likely that they won't care now seems to be the blonde's attitude about the situation.

Midoria slips and falls onto the floor, hands coming up to cover his face. He will not clap, he will not clap, he _will not clap-_

Bakugo's hand grabs the collar of his school shirt, yanking him to his feet and snarling in his face. "You don't fucking belong here, Deku." He growls, and Midoriya panics. He claps his hands together, and, with a burst of discharged energy, touches his own shirt to change it into just a simple t-shirt, Bakugo dropping the fabric and letting Midoriya scramble away. The other students are watching them, Midoriya can feel their eyes on him and Bakugo, and Midoriya rolls out of the way as Bakugo lunges at him. 

Someone shoves Bakugo against the wall, kicking the back of his knees and watching as he collapses backwards. "You're here to be a hero, right? Heroes fucking help people." It's the girl from the exam, Midoriya realizes as his vision goes hazy and the ringing in his ears intensifies. She kneels in front of him and extends a hand. "C'mon, man. Get up. You don't gotta deal with this asshole."

Midoriya blinks a few times before grabbing her hand, letting her pull him to his feet. He dusts himself off and stares at Bakugo with a deadpan look. "Grow up, Bakugo." He states, returning his shirt to it's normal state and straightening his tie. "You're not 12 anymore, you're a grown ass man. It's time you start acting like it."

"I'm-" Bakugo starts to explode again, but Midoriya turns his back to him and stalks to his seat, finally dropping his backpack and slumping down. Immediately, several people flock to his desk. It's the brunette girl, the boy who reprimanded him, another blonde male, and a girl with black hair pulled into a ponytail. He blocks them out in favor of his phone, before a hand slams onto his desk. It startles him into screaming shortly, arms windmilling backwards as his chair falls backwards and his head, once again, cracks into the ground. It seems like a recurring theme with him.

"Son of a bitch." He swears, propping himself up and touching the back of his head, his fingers coming away mercifully bloodless. "Who the hell did that?" He snarls, glaring at the people surrounding his desk.

The blonde boy - not Bakugo - looks sheepish. "Sorry, man, we were trying to get your attention."

"Well maybe think before you surprise someone like that." Midoriya snaps, getting back up and setting his chair back into place. "And did you think that I wouldn't want to talk to anyone at the moment? I wasn't paying attention for a reason."

"Leave him alone, Kaminari-kun." The purple haired girl slips into the seat next to Midoriya, aiming a swift kick at the blonde - Kaminari, she called him. "The rest of you, too."

"I just wanted to thank him for saving me!" The brunette chimes in, beaming at Midoriya. "Your quirk is so strong, you took out that 0 pointer with no effort! I probably would have died if you didn't help me." She turns to the purple haired girl. "You too! Thanks a lot, um-"

"Jirou." The purple haired girl nods, twirling one of her jacks around a finger. "Really, he did all the work." She jabs a finger at Midoriya, who rolls his eyes. 

"Well, thank you both!" The brunette bows to them before flouncing off to a girl with a frog quirk, it seems. The blue haired boy is still there, and Midoriya raises an eyebrow at him. 

"I'd like to formally apologize for my behavior at the exam!" He announces, his arm making an odd chopping motion. "I was out of line to reprimand you like that!"

"Shut up." Midoriya deadpans, cutting him off. "I don't care, man. Seriously. Your apology just makes me dislike you even more than I already do. It's whatever, we both got in. So maybe just, I don't know, leave me alone? Your first impression wasn't great, what makes you think I'll appreciate the second one?" He slouches over in his seat, staring back down in his phone. The blue haired boy stands with his mouth gaping before going back to his own seat. Jirou snickers next to him. 

It's a few more minutes as the class continues to chatter. Nobody hears the door slide open until footsteps are heard across the floor and a man stops at the podium in front of the class. "It took you approximately 17 seconds for you to all shut up." This man - _raggedy ass bitch,_ Midoriya thinks as he slides his phone away and his gloves go on - states, tapping a stack of papers on the wood and glaring at the room. "That's unacceptable. If you're going to become heroes, you need to be better." 

_Finally_ , Midoriya thinks with relief. _Someone who knows how to do their damn job_. 

"My name is Aizawa Shouta, I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next three years. We'll start with attendance. If I get your name wrong, tell me." Aizawa started reading off the list in a deadpan voice. A few kids corrected him on pronunciation, but Midoriya's eyebrows raised when Jirou's name was called. 

"It's actually Jirou Kyouka, not Jirou Kaneko." She says, her chin propped up on her hand. "That's my deadname."

"Right." Aizawa scratches the name off and presumably scribbles down the new one, nobody making a fuss about it.

 _Finally! Someone who knows how to do their damn job!_ Midoriya thinks again, this time with more enthusiasm.

"Now." Aizawa states, after attendance finishes. "You've all been given gym uniforms. Go get changed and meet me outside."

Iida - that's the blue haired guy who Midoriya has decided he doesn't like, even though he's related to Ingenium (Ingenium!) - raises his hand. "Sir! What are we doing?"

"Aptitude tests." Aizawa tucks his papers under his arm and starts making his way to the door. "Lowest score today gets expelled. You have 15 minutes to meet me outside." With a manic grin at the class, the door slides shut behind him.

 _God damnit,_ Midoriya thinks as the class explodes into noise and his hands go up to rub at his temples. _And here I was, hoping for a normal damn first day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CATCH ONE OF MY FAVORITE HEADCANONS OUT HERE

**Author's Note:**

> I have no socials currently but if this story gains some traction I'll consider creating a Discord Server for you guys. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please, drop any comments, questions, concerns or the like down below. Things you want to see in this story? Things that I can improve on? Memes? Send them!


End file.
